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MALAYSIA should not overemphasise unicorn companies at the cost of harming Malaysia’s digital economy, Malaysia Digital Economy Corp CEO Mahadhir Aziz said.
He said the focus of the country should shift to nurturing homegrown companies that can compete globally in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint which aims to foster a progressive economy by producing their own.
“However, the obsession with unicorns is also not so good for the ecosystem,” he said during the press conference after the MyDataHub.ai launch today.
Mahadzir added that while discussing unicorns in terms of numbers over two to five years is common, it’s important not to feel inferior to countries like Indonesia, which rapidly increase their unicorn count.
“We aim to attract established unicorns to use Malaysia as a launchpad.
“However, I believe there should be less emphasis on this, as our focus should be on fostering homegrown companies that can compete, rather than solely consuming technology solutions from abroad,” he said.
Mahadzir said this approach ensures that our ecosystem grows sustainably, not just rapidly.
Commenting further, he said Malaysia should also consider nurturing growth companies that can scale up, export and increase revenue and valuation.
“This comprehensive approach, emphasising collaboration and leveraging Asean’s collective strengths, is preferable,” he said.
He added that the recent KL20 Summit 2024 event highlighted these goals, including attracting established unicorns and fostering innovation while ensuring the ecosystem remains sustainable and not just focused on trends.
Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2024/06/06/malaysia-should-prioritise-homegrown-companies-over-unicorns/